LABRADAR DOPPLER CHRONOGRAPH Reviews & Ratings

I have had two other well known hard to spell the name chronos in the past few decades, my printable version, apparently doesnt like the fancy radars, as I live a very few miles from NAS Fallon, and ten billion dollar aircraft, fly over head often daily. I tried one of the C note brands, and wished I had my C note back, about the second try. My long time compadre, got one of these, I tried it, and fell in love, with the ease of set up. It seems to enjoy eating the AA batteries though, and a contact with support, and basically said, "yeah, it can get expensive using AA batteries" I was getting an hours use, using name brand AA. A guy can burn an hour at the range, just fiddling with the gun, waiting on wind, and very few shots down range. The tech did advise about using the EXACT output rate backup, "you dont have to buy ours, just make sure its 5 volt 2A ! Their tech was fantastic! Am a bit surprised, all that considered, that Brownell doesnt offer the backup box.

So far this works great for me, no more getting out in front of the firing line to set up. My wife got it for me for Christmas she didn't like helping me set up the other chronograph hehe. Haven't had any issues with the app so far, there is a newer version of the app and software that I will have to learn. But all the new updates look ok so far. I do like that you can name the series and add your powder charge to. Don't no the accuracy of it but seems to be in the ball park what little bit I have used it.

Lets start with the obvious, its not inexpensive, that said it was worth every penny to not have to go down range to setup my old chronograph. As far as the unit itself, I found it very easy to setup and it worked well from the very first shot from my 45ACP. Next outing I was running my .300blk with a can and it took 3 shots to find the best position/settings for that. I did download the manual from their web site, read thru it, and called the support number to confirm a couple things before it arrived so that probably helped. I was shooting from the left side of my bench and another shooter showed up and took the right side of the bench next to me. I was concerned that his shots would activate it but that wasnt a problem at all. I had it mounted on a tripod so I was able to stand behind it and sight it to the target easily. Get an external battery pack, it didn't use 10% of the power for the 2 hours I was at the range. I didnt use internal batteries and with the pack you could charge your cell phone at the same time if needed. Lastly, you can shoot for groups and chrono your rounds at the same time, since you dont hang anything from your barrel and you wont shoot your chrono because you switched targets and forgot your barrel to scope offset. It connected easily to my phone. To be honest there isnt enough real estate on a phone screen for the display, but I also connected it to my tablet and that worked really well. Their support folks told me they realize the app could be better and they were working on an upgrade. All in all if you are considering it you just need to pull the trigger on it (pun intended).

The Labradar works great. I prefer it over the Magnetospeed (I own both) because it sits next to the firearm so it doesn't change your impact on target. It doesn't touch the firearm in any way so you don't worry about barrel harmonics for finding speed accuracy nodes (I believe that the Magnetospeed does have an effect on harmonics kind of like a barrel tuner but without being able to tune it). The Labradar also doesn't have any impact on the bullet's flight due to the initial pressure bouncing off the Magnetospeed as the bullet exits the muzzle. For target/competitive shooters I think it saves time and the number of rounds to get a good load developed. The Labradar's cost is higher so if you shoot factory ammo, the Magnetospeed is fine (imho) ..you get the muzzle velocity and then can pull it off to shoot and test your come-ups and windage settings. With a suppressed 308win, it wouldn't detect shots (175grn SMK Sig match ammo) ....default Trigger at Level 1. I didn't test an external trigger source so I don't know if that would work. Great device and I would recommend for competitive shooters. The only real con is that it is a pretty high price tag.

Excellent tool for load development and diagnostic. Ive had this out twice and have not experienced any of the nuisance issues that Ive read about. Read the instructions. Convenient to setup on a public range as opposed to optical systems. Accurate. Menu functionality is kind of clunky but not counterintuitive. The app is decent, but it will drop out from your device at times. A google search will quickly result in some good tips for use. If you are a serious hand loader and/or like all the data you can get its too easy not to have setup every time you shoot. S/F Ryan

Like the other reviewers, I think this is an excellent chronograph. The captured muzzle velocities are almost identical to trued muzzle velocities calculated by my ballistic solver. I also get more accurate and quantifiable data when comparing the impact of changing primers, brass, and other components when working up load recipes. Its convenient to set up and use when compared to sky screen types. While not detracting from this excellent piece of hardware, the manufacturers app has not functioned nearly as well as the chronograph. Ive abandoned using the app, and have defaulted to using the keypad on the device.

I'm working up a load for PRS in a 6.5 Creedmore. I got a cheaper "made in China" crono that was defective out of the box. I called to get an RMA (the Brownells' agent was great) and asked if they had a recommended alternative, they said they were getting good comments about the LabRadar. Well, as is often the case, you get what you pay for. This thing works GREAT. I took it out for the second time yesterday shot three series of 15, 15 and 30 rounds. It picked up every round and worked flawlessly. After measuring the muzzle velocity with the LabRadar my buddy and I ran it through my ballistics program. I think it must have been accurate since we hit 14" square targets at 400, 500, 600 and 700 yards. When I got home I pulled the SD card and it took about 10 seconds to save all the data to my computer. I couldn't ask for any better performance.

This is by far the best chronograph I have used. No more shooting through hoops. It's very accurate as the ammo is testing out to match reloading data. Even calculated loads are matching the readings. It works better than they claim. They say it needs 15 meters, 20 best to register accurately. But It works well at 5 meters, for youths learning to hit easier at 5 meters with combat pistols. I used a Bic pen housing to make a aiming sight as the notch was ok but when you have not so great vision the Bic scope works very well. Yes I get a odd reading here and there at 5 meters but that may be cause people miss the target. Old primers can have the same effects. The battery pack would last 8 to 10 hours easy. After you use it awhile the panel is easy to start a new series for every target or shooter. Much easier to set up on a tripod but get a good one, its a bit heavier than a camera. The base plate is great for a bench and also at home on a table when going over the readings. The first one I got failed terribly and it turned out the internal triggers were bad. Brownells did not make me return it to LabRadar and sent a new one at no cost to me. I bet there were covers on those triggers and they were not removed after install. It's electronic so I got a Pelican for transport but it looks like its designed to be on the rugged side. This chronograph is great for ranges as there are no hoops down range. I am on my way to making better munitions. If the price is just to much then I would use the Caldwell with hoops. It's LED light system worked under all conditions, bright sun or cloudy day it was accurate also.

Couldn't bring myself to spend the money for the Labradar and base. My shooting partner and I each paid half when it went on sale with an additional 10% off. HOW DID I EVER LIVE WITHOUT THIS THING! My aggravation level is zero now. No more cease fires to adjust my old chrono 15 feet downrange. First time using it was a Saturday. Range was mobbed. I didn't have to inconvenience anyone. Used the Labradar base which has a nifty bubble level to get you started right. A sandbag on each side of the base dampened any vibration . Being scared of damaging it, i pushed the muzzle of the rifle a little forward of the edge of the device. Still worked fine. Followed the instructions and aimed it using a deprimed .223 case lying in the sighting groove on top of the housing. ( works best if you look through the case neck and align your target with the primer flash hole) Never failed to pick up a shot, never triggered on the report from another shooter next to me. No more wild , inconsistent readings like the optical chronos that I've been using for 25 years. Got my workup loads done in half the usual time. Consistency is critical when edging up to max. loads. Never could get this kind of accuracy with an optical chronograph. A wealth of information is stored on the device. I'm pretty slow on the uptake for most tech items,but, this is very easy to learn. 20 minutes of hands-on use and I was comfortable with the menus and display. Read the owners manual ,twice. Kept the quick start guide handy at the bench the first time. No issues. Bought 6 lithium AA batteries and they're going strong after 4 hours of use at 35 degrees. I'll use them till they die and get an idea of battery life. For my needs, this is definitely the " newest best idea"

Used it first time today. Easy setup, just follow the directions. Used external USB battery pack. Worked first time without fuss. Shooting 357SIG and 10mm at 50 yds. Used a tripod next to the bench, there was not enough room on our benches to use the mount plate that I bought with it.